


A Promise of Hope

by the_gay_gatsby



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: And it probably shows, Canon Gay Character, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Gay Nico di Angelo, I Haven't Read The Trials of Apollo, M/M, Mutual Pining, Nico is So Tired, POV Nico di Angelo, Pansexual Leo Valdez, Stop Reducing Leo To The Comedic Relief Challenge, i just think they're neat, medium burn?, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:54:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27747052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_gay_gatsby/pseuds/the_gay_gatsby
Summary: Nico Di Angelo could not stand Leo Valdez. He tolerated his company to appease his friends and that was it. The last thing he'd expect, or want, was to get closer to the son of Hephaestus.Unluckily for Nico, though, he really wasn't given a choice in the matter.
Relationships: Leo Valdez/Calypso (past), Nico di Angelo/Leo Valdez, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace (past)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 37





	A Promise of Hope

Nico di Angelo really wanted to hit Leo Valdez.

One would think that by now, after knowing one another for a while (too long, in Nico’s humble opinion) and dealing with several traumatic situations as part of the same team, Nico would have gotten used to the other boy’s constant joking, but no, apparently not. His incessant need for attention always managed to grate on Nico’s nerves; even after so much time had passed, Leo hadn’t become any less obnoxious.

The only reason Nico tolerated Leo in the first place, if he was going to be completely honest, was because without him Nico would be completely alone in the sea of romance that was his friend group. The majority of their mutual friends were either coupled up or close friends with one another, so Nico and Leo were kind of obligated to spend time together as the only two bachelors of the group. Nico didn’t know all the details about the situation, and didn’t particularly care to, but from what Jason told him, Leo and Calypso’s relationship had ended pretty quickly after they returned to Camp Half-Blood. As for Nico—well, his relationship with Will didn’t last either, and that was that.

Despite Nico feeling obligated to spend time with him, Leo's presence was too much to deal with for long. He constantly made jokes that only a child would find funny, and apparently he couldn't stand having the attention off of himself for more than what felt like five seconds at a time. He was loud, boisterous, energetic, and he somehow managed to make Nico simultaneously furious and deeply exhausted. After having a mental timer in place, Nico had decided he could tolerate Leo for just about forty minutes and thirty-seven seconds before he snapped.

That day’s forty minute mark was rapidly approaching, as was the end of Nico’s sanity; Leo had decided to sing wildly out of tune songs into some mechanism he’d built that made his voice sound warped, like he was singing into a fan. In another context, perhaps one in which he wasn’t being driven mad by the noise, Nico might’ve found the contraption impressive, but when Leo began his rendition of “Stayin’ Alive”, Nico decided he’d had enough. He slipped out of the cabin as quietly as possible, schooling his features to remain as neutral as possible so as not to betray the frustration bubbling just beneath the surface. He hoped that nobody would mention that he was gone, but judging by the murmuring that picked up a few seconds later, his wishes were futile. Nico was always surprised when people noticed his presence or lack thereof; blending into the shadows didn't work well if people insisted on seeking you out. From what he could hear by listening outside the door, Hazel noticed his absence first, followed by Jason and the rest. Nico rolled his eyes as she informed everyone else that Nico was probably just exhausted and refusing to admit it, and that she ‘clearly had to get him to bed because he wouldn’t do it himself’ before leaving the cabin to join Nico outside.

Hazel leaned against the wall and turned her tired grin onto Nico. He laughed at the expression on her face, and it felt good to let go of his negative feelings for a second. “Thanks, mom,” He quipped, the sarcasm palpable in his tone.

“You should be grateful,” Hazel agreed with a teasing wink. “You know if I had said nothing, some of the others, namely Jason, would have become too worried to let it go. You know how they get.”

Nico was grateful to Hazel for helping him get out of there without too much hassle, of course, but he was still allowed to nag her for acting like his mother despite her being technically physically younger than he was. His only reaction to her words was to roll his eyes again.

Hazel sighed and ruffled her brother's already frizzy hair, much to his displeasure. “Nico, you do know I can’t keep doing this, right? I can’t just bail you out of every social situation you don’t want to be a part of.”

“I know, I know,” Nico relented, raising his hands in surrender. “But did you hear Valdez? I was seriously one off-key note away from punching his lights out, and I’d really like to avoid punching your friends.”

“Thanks for that,” Hazel replied, deadpan. Her faint smile gave her amusement away, though. “Look, Neeks; I know it’s hard, but I would appreciate it if you could try to give him a chance? He’s really not as bad as he portrays himself to be. Or as annoying. I think you two are more similar than you’d expect.” And with a reassuring pat on the arm and a small smile, Hazel returned to the cabin where the friends had all gathered, leaving Nico on his own.

Nico wrinkled his nose at the concept. He didn’t want to have anything in common with Leo Valdez. If he did, he had a lot of changing to do; Nico couldn’t even fathom the idea of being so effortlessly annoying as Valdez was. (He could practically hear Leo protesting—“I put a lot of work into being infuriating, thank you very much!”) As Nico wandered back to the Hades cabin, he let his thoughts linger on what Hazel had said. Maybe she was right, maybe there was more to Leo than just his ‘class clown’ exterior, but Nico didn’t think he could bear to spend enough time with Leo to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This WIP has been sitting in my google drive for like a year and I figured if I post it I might actually finish the rest. We'll see I guess.  
> As seen in the tags I haven't read ToA and don't really plan to, so this doesn't follow that canon at all, and it might be OOC to the original series as well as I haven't re-read it in a bit. Sorry about that!


End file.
